Hiddennode

Coming August 1st, FlashWriMo, an event I’ll be doing to get a most of my flash fiction project out of the way before Labor Day.

Yeah I know, I’ve been absent from doing as much Flash publishing for the second half of July after a strong start in the end of June. The good news is that this isn’t because I’m not writing, it’s because I’m working on another project (or three). The biggest project will be finished by the weekend coming up. The other projects are on going but will take a back seat once August crests the month line.

So what is FlashWriMo to me? FlashWriMo is taking the rules of NaNoWriMo and applying it to writing a ton of flash fiction. That’s 51,667 words in 31 days (NaNo is 50K is 30 days, do the math). At under 500 words a story, that will be at minimum 103 pieces of flash fiction to create in 31 days. Since my plan was 104 pieces of flash fiction this year (two a week), this will meet my quota for the year, my quota for the special post year project, and allow me to possibly twice to posting three stories a week. If that happens that I work on 156 pieces for the year, I’ll up the special project at the end of the year to 200 pieces of fiction. If you’re counting still, that’ll be 100,000 words. Hrm, that sounds familiar… like it’s the length of something else you’d put in book form.

If FlashWriMo works out, maybe I’ll do a repeat come NaNoWriMo time and just get the first half of the stories done for 2011 ready. What? Did you think I was only doing the flash project for a year? Oh no, this is a lifetime project. So long as I can still interact with the written word, you’ll always find flash fiction on my writing site. Flash fiction is fun, and even if my writing career never really picks up, I’ll continue writing the micro pieces.

I… just would prefer… you know… if it did take off.

Okay, so expect new fiction starting August 1st (or technically the 3rd, since that’s Tuesday). There’s a post highlighting this on the fiction site if you want details on knowing which stories started in FlashWriMo.

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So, right, the desk. These are a little old, but see previous posts for why they weren’t posted yet.

Let me start off by showing what my desk used to look like.

Note that I used to have a back panel on the desk. Still weird seeing that back wall now.

Okay, so the new desk. I ordered an Ameriwood Work Center-L desk from Amazon back in April. Not too expensive, but I was a little hesitant about ordering from a company I didn’t know. I would come to find out, my instincts were right. (see multiple angry tweets about not getting my instructions… that’s another story).

Fast forward to two weeks later. I have my instructions, and I’ve moved Trish’s desk where mine once was. This first shot is a few steps in and the top is still upside down.

So I start building higher and higher, getting more parts together and keeping cats from grabbing the tiny bits and screws.

Look! It’s standing! I’m so proud.

One wing done.

(Look, a cat distraction!)

And here’s the left wing. FYI, this step is recommended for two people. The manual is not lying. This was a pain in the ass crawling behind and attaching that wing. (Also, I got the top up too)

So, that’s the desk done. It’s a few weeks later and now here’s the current desk:

If you can name a few dozen geeky things in that picture, a cookie for you.

So, desk images delivered. Are you happy now Dakota?

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Been a busy Monday. From taking the time to really get down and exercise, to reviewing a recording of Transdimensional café and finishing up editing on flash fiction, I’m quite proud of myself.

Even managed to complete something like 5000 words on brainstorming for the new D&D campaign. Did I mention that? Yeah, turns out I managed to recruit five people to be a part of a 4^th edition dungeons and dragons game. Awesome.  The story concept is familiar, very Romanesque in a magical realm. Think it’ll work, we’ll see though won’t we.

Fun note about last Thursday’s flash fiction, Corporate World: I ended up being inspired to make this piece after listening to the first few episodes of Nathan Lowell’s Quartershare. So far the book is pretty good, looking forward to how it ends, and the inevitably the half dozen sequels.

Woo, getting tired. I suppose that exercise is catching up to me.

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The last two weeks I’ve been busy with managing  to get work started on several projects.

Starting with my fiction, I’m currently working on a piece of for the Escape Artists Flash contest. While I can’t provide any details for the story as that would be against the contest rules,  I will say that I’m really enjoying the piece I’ve put together. You’ll get to see the piece on the writing site regardless if I win or not. The story has been trimmed down I just have to give it one last editing sweep before submitting it tonight.

The year of Flash continues with my Tuesday/Thursday posts. Still going strong, and now I’m all caught up except for three remaining posts in January. I should have that corrected by the end of this week which will let me move onto the next phase of the project: Getting ahead of schedule. In order for me to have the book ready by the end of the year, I have to have the fiction written long before December. Ideally, I’d like to be a month ahead of schedule by the end of April or May, two months by the end of June/July, and be finished with the year by the end of August/September. This would let me work October through December preparing the book while getting ahead of schedule for the next year.

Finally, I’m working on a short story based on a writing assignment from the March FWA meeting. The outline is complete and I just need to put meat on those bones. The goal is to have a final draft edited by the end of April, and then have a finished copy ready to go for submissions by the end of May.

Outside of fiction writing, I’m back at working on an RPG system. This one is very similar to one I worked on years ago with one of my best friends. She had wanted something akin to an Alice In Wonderland rpg, so it had to be based on cards instead of dice. I’m now further into the new development on the project than when I was working on it ten years ago. The current timeframe is to be able to run play tests by this weekend. Going to hijack my wife into playing the game with me for a bit. Ideally I can have something ready by the end of Spring.

Moving on from writing, the recording of TDC3 is tonight. I’m sorry that the second episode isn’t up yet, but hopefully things can get rolling soon. Haven’t had much chance to talk to Andrew over the past two weeks, so I’m assuming he’s been very busy with work. Happens I guess. I’m still debating starting my own show, but I don’t have the editing expertise Andrew has. We’ll see how this tonight goes.

I’m happy to see that productivity is abound. I see 2010 as a great year for my projects and while there have been set backs (see my posts about the post-apocalyptic Shadowrun project earlier this year), one thing I’ve learned from that project is that I can’t get too hyped up about the project until I’m certain it’s something I know I will love.

We’ll see just how well that goes with the current cooking pots.

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This is it. The second week we’re going to be recording over at Transdimensional Cafe. Technically we should be recording our third set of episodes this week, but you can read the previous week’s post to see why that didn’t happen. I don’t know if you’ve taken the time to listen to our premier episode, but I really enjoyed the time me and Andrew spent working on it. Now that we’re about to dive into our second episode, we’re setting the bar a bit higher. Tonight will be spent organizing and preparing the content so that tomorrow evening we can hit the ground running as soon as 10 pm rolls around.

I’m also considering picking up a webcam for the recording as that seems to be a growing trend in podcasting these days. Not certain if that’s right for us just yet, but we will inevitably get it rolling.

Oh quick update on the writing site, we are on schedule this week for two new pieces Tuesday and Thursday. I’ll be preparing some backlog stories this week to fill the rest of Jan, Feb, and Mar. Hopefully I can be finished with the backlog before April. I’ve got a week and a half so I need to get in gear.

Writing Goal for the week: 500 words written or edited each day not counting blog posts.

That’s it. Just a quickie on what’s happening this week.

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It’s been an awkward month. Between starting a new game, dealing with family death, shifts in work schedules, and relationship issues, things have been fumbled. I’ve already mentioned the mystical quest the non-exist posts are on, so the blog really shows a reflection of things as they are.

Despite issues, though, I’m pressing on. There’s been a few hiccups but I’m fixing these holes, at least in terms of the fiction writing. As of this post’s writing, the last entries that have appeared on jsamueldiehl.com was on February 4th. To catch up, I’m post-posting these items, so feel free to check the website on the normal Tuesday/Thursdays for new backlog items. I’m actually reaching into my archives for these stories too, so you’re seeing things that have been around for years but no one has ever read.

I’m determined to keep up with two pieces of flash a week for this year. So far, when I’m lagging behind I’ve been able to catch up. Keep with me, and I’ll make sure to keep these stories rolling.

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Huh, guess I missed starting up the New Year with new posts.

Welcome to 2010, the year we get our shit together. At least, that seems to be the overall view many people have been presenting over the last few weeks. It’s a common thread that with the change of the Gregorian Calendar we like to set new goals, new ideals, and new resolutions for the coming 365 days. Most won’t make it, but we at least put that initial effort out there. The fact it’s also considered by many to be a new decade also helps convince us that we need to have this change of pace.

(Just a quick aside at December 31^st, 2009, at midnight, the second it became 0:00:00 am, it’s 2010 exactly and the end of the decade. The microsecond it becomes 0:00:00:01 am, it’s now the second decade of the year. To those who use the “We count to 10” argument, you’re right, at exactly 2010, it’s still the first decade of the century, but a second later, it’s not. 10.00001 isn’t part of 10.)

I’m no different. There are a few ideal things I’ve got planned for the coming months. My biggest bit is that I’m focused on sharing a piece of flash fiction weekly on my website. Admittedly, I’ve already fubbed this last week so to make up for it I’m sharing three pieces this week. One story has already posted, a set of three “One-Hundred Word Stories” have already been written for Wednesday. I just need to write one for Friday. Next week I’ll be back at the once a week schedule.

Going forth with the idea of resolutions, what have you been considering for this year/decade? Have big plans that are unique to you or going with some of the classics like “lose weight?” Always interested to hear from you all.

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Oh I have a busy weekend coming up. There’s going to be family, friends, and social gatherings to attend to that all fall between Saturday and Sunday. Creative projects are coming to a head. Plus I get to spend more time connecting to my community. Busy but it’s going to be fun.

First, we’re gathering for early Christmas setup and not doing gifts this year in our normal fashion. Instead, we’re having a baking party. From the email my wife sent to the attendees, I’ve been listed as an official tester, a role I intend to shine in. It will be good fun seeing my sister-in-law and some of her children and their children and significant others. Besides… Raven is going out of her way to make my favorite peanut butter cookies.

Second, myself, Dakota, and Andrew will be recording episode one of Trans-Dimensional Cafe. We’ve already recorded two other “non-public” episodes to get into the swing. Some hiccups with recording the last two episodes, but we’re staying on track with getting episode one created. I’ll be posting whenever a new one comes up, until folks get tired of it.

What is Trans-Dimensional Cafe? Well, to sum it up in a sentence: It’s a casual conversation about gaming, writing, TV, movies, and other entertaining and constructive projects. Why the name? I don’t know, but it sounds cool. Are we going to make some sort of theme around it? Maybe, but not so much at first. Being entertaining on our own merit is more important in the long run.

The final spark of the weekend is on Sunday, when I have my book club meeting. It’s our second meeting, so I’m excited to see how it goes. I’m still working on reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, but for a genre I don’t normally read I’m really enjoying the book. I’ll give a review after this Sunday I think. Again, I’m looking forward to meeting my neighbors more at these meetings. The last batch of three really were fun to chat with. Between the four of us, we’ve had a pretty diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. I have a feeling I’m going to gain a lot from them in the coming months.

My weekend is pretty full from these events. That said I still have a few smaller things I need to take care of. I’ve got some Second Life work to manage, I need to find a new theme for this blog, I need to craft an entry for the jsamueldiehl.com site, and a few more minor details I’ll take care of in the second half of the week.

So, this post’s question: Continuing the holiday theme, what are your plans for getting ready for the end of the month? Are you buying or have you bought already? Did you plan out a nice trip for family or friends? Are you treating celebrating Christmas the American holiday or are you celebrating Christmas the spiritual holiday? Always happy to hear from you.

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Slow week, but with the holiday coming up I’m not surprised.

The only major change I can report on is my return to Second Life. That’s right, after about a year (or two) away from the realm, I’m back into Linden Land. I caught the bug Saturday night after my last post. Logged in, looked around, and decided to just start working on the project Raven wanted me to do for her build space. Two hours later I’m sitting inside of a very pretty gigantic floating sphere. I even nabbed Dakota into jumping in and it turns out some of the Ventrlio regulars play as well.

I’ve taken to it like a fish to water as if I’ve never stopped. I’m also quickly picking up some of the newer techniques that developed over the last year or two. Interestingly, I’ve found a number of builds using sculpties where in the past you could easily solve with one or two prims cut the right way. I can’t say I blame the builders for this method, but at the same time I almost feel as if it’s an unneeded short cut. Maybe I’ve just got an “Old Guard” mentality when it comes to my SL design work. Then again, sculpties often (although not always) tend to have a more “organic” look, which is contrary to my more simplistic modern style.

What can I say? I like straight lines that match perfectly every time. Do I use sculpties? Of course, but as a rarity.

Now Mega prims, that’s a different story.

So today’s question: Are you a Second Life player? Have you played before or are you interested in playing it again? Let me know, maybe we can meet virtually in game. If you’re new maybe I can also help you get started.

Extra Credit: If you do play Second Life, are you a builder? What’s your opinions on sculpties? I know they’ve been around for quite some time (late 2006 I believe), but it’s always possible to review something from a different light.

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Things the last few weeks have been interesting. There’s been a lot of good change in my life in the last few months with most of them focused on the last three weeks. Between my new attitude about my domestic life, my creative and inventive projects, and my desire to just get things done, I really feel like my life has moved into another slot in the wheel and grinded forward a dozen steps.

In the past quarter, I’ve managed to start a new job with an old company, begun working on projects I’ve dreamt of for years, and lay out plans for domestic projects that both needed to be done and wanted to be done.

Domestically speaking, there are a couple of projects I’ve started that I’m proud of. I’m making moves every Sunday evening to clear out some of the boxes left over from the move four years ago. This mostly involves purging items in the garage and organizing what’s left behind. It’s cost some money to buy the shelving but it’s really worked out. I’ve been at this three weeks in a row and I’ve found the simple pleasure of working with my hands.

Additionally, I’ve ordered parts for a project I’ve been planning for years. A friend pointed me to monoprice.com, an inexpensive site for computer, A/V, and network wiring. For under $50.00 I’ll be able to hook up the old media PC to my TV and Stereo in the living room. I’ll be able to sign up for things like Netflix or make purchases on iTunes and watch them on the much larger screen. Not to mention Hulu and my music I’ve bought. Parts should be in by this Monday or Tuesday (they were on their way to Jacksonville around 12:06 AM Friday).

Day job professionally speaking, the new job I started in September is going great. I’m with a company I used to work for a year ago. It feels great being back and the work, while challenging, is enjoyable. I enjoy my coworkers and I think they enjoy being around me.  Generally speaking, being a permanent employee at a company that acknowledges me for my achievements is a great change of pace. Hoping this time the job lasts longer than a year.

Night job professionally speaking, I am lacking in the book production mindset. I’ve been writing but I haven’t been doing as much as I intended. I did start NaNoWriMo this year, but starting is just about all I did. A million excuses but basically I’ve been lazy about it. I am slowly getting back on the horse but it’s not as fast as I’d like it to be.

Speaking of creative measures, after three years of listening to podcasts and wishing to start one, things have come to pass. My friend Dakota, myself, and Andrew, a new friend who has audio engineering experience with podcasts are starting up a weekly or bi-weekly project. The name is tentative until episode one goes up in December, but so far we’re happy with Trans-Dimensional Cafe. The show is going to be a forum for discussion about geeky interests, writing, gaming, and lifestyle. We’re recording several episode zeroes to get into the swing of a format as well as raising out comfort level with speaking into the recording stream. I believe by mid December we’ll do fine with recording and releasing episode one. Episode 0-2 was recorded tonight and compared to how the first recording went, we were great. Thirty minutes to record with most of the audio actually useable. I’m very pleased.

Finally, tech speaking, I’ve reformatted my computer for the first time in two years. It’s about time frankly, but it’s come at a cost. Namely, I’ve lost all my contact details in terms of email addresses as well as archived mail items. Ugh. If you are someone who’s had email correspondence with me, please email me at jdiehl AT hiddennode.com so I can get your latest contact address.

The reformat has fixed a number of annoying bugs, and I have nearly all of my old programs reinstalled. I’ve limited the number of games I have installed, as well as the number of programs I can have installed at once. Basically I’ve formatted my drive into two partitions and only allocated about 50gb’s to my XP installation. When I do install 7 sometime next year, I’ll probably just buy a new drive to put it on.

That’s my current life activities in a nut shell. Future plans include the entertainment project, writing more, and Dragon*Con next year (more on that later). For now, I’m getting in gear.

What about you? Are you keeping busy? How goes your projects? Let me know if the busy bug has bitten you too.

Take care all,

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